The Sustainability and Resilience Department of the city of Santa Barbara recognizes individuals and organizations through its annual Spirit of Service Awards. Recipients go above and beyond to promote a cleaner, more green community.
The award winners will be honored online this week and received a recycled glass Spirit of Service trophy.
Toad & Co., Ellen Hunter and Cord Christensen won in the waste reduction category.
Toad & Co. is a sustainable clothing company that uses recycled materials. In the office, it sourced used furniture and upcycled it, recycles textiles and composts waste.
Ms. Hunter, a teacher at Monroe Elementary School, created a food scraps collection program and educated the school on composting.
Mr. Christensen started a recycling program at Providence School. He collects bottles and cans and inspires students to do the same.
Javier Limón, Santa Barbara Arts Alliance and Adan Venegas are honored in the “clean community” category.
Mr. Limón has helped clean up his neighborhood for the past 10 years, cleaning up litter, mowing parkways and assisting neighbors with projects.
The Santa Barbara Art Alliance, an art-based youth group, painted a mural at Sunflower Park to deter vandalism.
Mr. Venegas, owner of Blue Agave Landscaping, joined in on a community clean-up project — even paying some of his workers to assist with their tools.
Thomas Coleman won the Jack Cantin Spirit of Service Youth Award for his work establishing the Bishop Diego High School chapter of Teens on the Scene. The youth-led organization connects students to local nonprofits.
So far, he has partnered with PATH, Unity Shoppe, Food from the Heart, the city of Santa Barbara and more.
The city awarded Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District and the Community Environmental Council in the “climate hero” category.
MTD committed to 100% renewable electricity throughout its fleet, setting an example for transit districts.
CEC’s campaigns and programs, such as Solarize Santa Barbara, Fossil Free by 33 and Ditch Plastic helped educate the community and raise awareness of sustainability issues.
For more information, visit sustainability.santabarbaraca.gov/materials/sos.
— Annelise Hanshaw
